Submitted by
yogiprophet
a Racer
from Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA Date Reviewed: October 26, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Purchased At:
Frankie Flats, Santa
Strengths:
Is made to climb some seriously crazy technical stuff
Weaknesses:
Design flaw at the main rear pivot attachment.
Flexy front triangle compared to Cannondale bikes I own, so does not inspire confidence when descending.
Similar Products Used:
I own a Cannondale Prophet and Carbon Rush.
Bike Setup:
Fox G2 100mm fork with a 29" front wheel which raises the front end about 30mm from the speced bike. It has an almost 70 degree HA and the front end has no floppy (chopper) feeling.
Bike is speced out pretty nicely and weighs about 28 lbs.
Bottom Line:
The frame weight for my XL size is 6.4 lbs. so it is not too bad, but not having a lefty fork adds some extra weight.
Now to the point. The FULLY THREADED pivot bolt goes through a 2 piece welded pivot and bottom bracket housing which is welded to the main frame. It contains a left and a right side. For the pivot "hole", the right side is threaded and the left side is not. It is just a hole the size of the outer diameter of the FULLY THREADED bolt. The main frame is ALUMINUM and the bolt is made of STEEL. Can anyone guess what is going to happen? The THREADED BOLT "bites" into the ALUMINUM main frame in a matter of a few rides. After about 3 rides I noticed quite a bit of play in the rear triangle. Wedged the front wheel so it could not move and grabbed a pedal in the down position and moved it back and forth. There is a ton of play down there. I finally took it apart to see what was going on. I couldn't believe what I saw. To say the least I was highly disappointed that Felt (or any "reputable" bicycle co.) would let something like this be sold. Felt would not respond to my email and when I did talk to a sales rep, he was very nervous about the issue. When the LBS contacted his rep, he said they knew about the problem and supposedly a fix was in the works but not until 2009!?! fu@kin bullsh!t. And to top it off, I was going to have to pay for it. My dealer said that the 2008 models supposedly resolved this issue. I would have though any moron would have known better that to put out crap like this.
Well, I had to find a hard (turned out to be titanium) thin walled tube so that I could drill out the pivot hole were the bolt bit into it and put the tube in there to fix it. This is not any easy accomplishment, but it works now and there is not play after many rides. Fu@k Felt.
Okay enough venting. I made the frame into a 69er which is a 26" rear wheel and a 29" front wheel with 100mm travel G2 offset Fox. The bike I tested with the 26" front wheel and 130mm front travel rode like crap because the bike's HA is way too steep. The 29" front wheel solves this and it rides beautifully except that the front triangle is a little bit flexy for my taste. The rear triangle(now that I fixed it) is actually stiffer that my Cannondales, but the rear is not as important for handling. Downhill sections are a little scary because of the flex. It is sort of like riding 2 bikes at the same time. The front and the rear being the 2 bikes. On the technical uphill though, this thing rocks like no other I have experienced.I got a deal being that it was an '07 model, but IF the '08 is fixed then that would have been the way to go. Still would have the flexy main frame problem.
This whole experience is proof that you can't trust inexperienced riders to give you information about complex products such as full suspension mounatin bikes. People I contacted about their bikes bave me the thumbs up about the '07 frame. They are totally oblivious of the rear pivot problem because of their lack of any kind of awareness or experience. Reviews that claim this or that are a bunch of crap 90% of the time. I've been riding for almost 14 years and just won my age group for the state series in expert category. With a mechanical engineering degree and a physics degree you decide which post you should give more weight.
Bottom line: Buy another brand!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kris K.
a Weekend Warrior
from Wyoming Date Reviewed: May 30, 2008
Fox float RLC, XT/XTR Mix, Race Face post, Thomson Stem, Syncros carbon Bar, Hand built Chris King Wheelset.
Bottom Line:
There are two different types of Felt Virtue Frames in 2007, and one in 2008. This review is for the 2007 All-Mtn version, the difference being a slightly shorter top tube, slacker HA, and larger down tube than XC/Marathon version.(2008 is XC.) I purchased this frame because it does what they say it will do and that is cure all the drawbacks that keep hardtail riders off of full-suspension. First, this frame does NOT lock out. It is a fully active 5" travel full-suspension rig. The "Equilink" is the key. Except for this link the suspension design is like most available now with a double linkage, except the angles on the links are extreme. The "Equilink" ties these two linkages together in a way that completely eliminates chain input. Not kind-of, I mean COMPLETELY. With an RP23 shock in the full-open setting (no pro-pedal) it rides super smooth, and climbing is soooo easy. The harder you pedal, the harder the "Equilink" works to neutralize chain input leaving the suspension to do exactly what it should which is allow the tires to follow the trail. On steep climbs you can look down and see that the shock is working real hard, lots of movement, but it is NOT bob, it is ONLY trail input. I'll say it again, BOB IS GONE! The only time you get bob on this bike is when you leave the pro-pedal full open and spin a high cadence. This will cause the bike to bob a little due to reciprocating weight, not due to pedal-bob. This bike is a dream to ride. Super fast and way smooth. The only drawback is all those pivots need to be retorqued at regular intervals when the frame is new as the bearings will seat a little in their pockets with use. Easy to do though, because the torque specs are laser-etched on the caps. Go to a Felt dealer and try one of these bikes out. It is the unsung All-Mountain hero! Follow the instructions on the shock rocker for proper set-up and go have the ride of your life. I can tell you I'm converted. Jim Felt knew what he was doing here.
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Overall Rating:
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